Stay on target

There’s nothing more X-Men than a super-unstable temporary alliance. This is a franchise that loves to put its protagonists in the middle of two opposing factions, and this season of The Gifted really leaned into that. On one side, we have the Inner Circle, who aims to turn the United States, or at least part of it, into a vaguely fascist Mutant-only haven. On the other side, we have the Purifiers acting as a stand-in for any number of racist hate groups making the news in the real world right now. Like any good X-Men story, this show loves to make its heroes temporarily work one side to fight the other. Usually, this alliance tempts the heroes towards extremism, particularly when the extremists can get much quicker results. With only a broadcast hour to work with, this episode didn’t really get into that.

The midseason finale left us with the three factions driven as far apart as they’ve ever been, but a promise that that would have to change. With Thunderbird kidnapped by the Purifiers, the Underground needs help to rescue him. The Morlocks aren’t likely to be able to help, so they have no choice but to ask the Inner Circle for help. The characters spend all of three minutes discussing the repercussions of even a temporary alliance. The question of what happens if the Underground starts depending on Inner Circle money and power when things get a little tough would have been an interesting one to explore. Even someone owing the Inner Circle a favor would open up exciting possibilities for future episodes. Instead, the question is avoided by having only Lorna and Andy temporarily join their old friends without any assistance from the organization at large. The Underground gets to remain morally clean and entirely bland. Yay.

As frustrating as it is to see missed opportunities sitting right there, the reunion does give the episode some fantastic emotional moments. This is the first time Andy and his parents have really gotten to see each other all season, and we really feel that. Their reunion feels genuine. As much tough talk as they displayed when talking about Andy in the abstract, it’s a different story when Reed and Caitlin see him in person for the first time in months. They’re naturally overjoyed to see their son again, and immediately start gushing over how much he’s grown and everything they missed. Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker play the emotions so well, it’s hard not to feel for them. At the same time, Lauren’s reaction is equally understandable. She’s been dealing with her brother’s problems in her dreams for nearly as long as he’s been gone. She has the right to be a little annoyed with how quickly her parents’ tones have changed.

A more satisfying, and action-packed, reunion comes from Eclipse and Polaris. The complicated emotions are still there, and both Sean Teale and Emma Dumont play the tension so well. There’s still love there, that both people are trying to ignore, and the actors’ chemistry together makes that feel so much more real. Especially when they start working together during the rescue mission. You can see them fall into a natural rhythm together as they fight off a militia of armed Purifiers. They set off landmines and redirect bullets in a sequence that gets back to the spectacular, fun action scenes that got us into The Gifted in the first place. Even Blink, who doesn’t get nearly enough to do in this episode, has a cool moment where her portal’s redirect a Purifier’s own bullet back into him.

Emma Dumont and Percy Hynes White — Cr: Annette Brown/FOX.

This episode, in uniting parts of two opposing sides in a common goal, moves things along at a rapid pace, which is very much appreciated. This kind of focus has been missing from some recent episodes that tried to tell too many disparate stories in too little time. The pace also means we don’t have to put up with too many scenes of Jace Turner torturing Thunderbird. Not that I’m a fan of torture scenes in general, but these did not land at all. While I appreciate the hint that there’s still some humanity in Turner, as he initially wants to avoid dismembering Thunderbird, the episode struggles to communicate how unpleasant the loud metal music really is for Thunderbird. Conceptually, we understand why it hurts, but in this episode, it doesn’t read as particularly brutal or painful. We recognize that it sucks, but that’s about it. It also makes Thunderbird’s breakdown, where he reveals that Polaris and Andy left the Underground feel forced. Really? He gave up that quick? I’m not buying it.

Turner also becomes cartoonishly evil by the end of it, pulling a complete 180 into “kill all mutants” territory the second Thunderbird’s friends, shock of shocks, try to rescue him. That’s the other part of all this that undercuts what the episode is going for. Turner comes off as really dumb. His realization that there might be two opposing mutant groups is played like some unfathomable revelation, and… Really? I know that racists aren’t generally known for their great brains, but it’s almost like he’s being stupid on purpose. The Purifiers can be such a scary existential threat to the mutants on this show, so it’s disappointing when they’re turned into braindead cartoon villains like this.

This tight and focused episode mostly sticks the landing, though. It’s a bittersweet conclusion that nicely sets up the rest of the season. Though all our Season One heroes formed a temporary alliance, it only served to drive them further apart. Reed and Caitlin’s gushing over Andy comes to a screeching halt when one of the Purifiers takes a shot at Lauren while they’re leading Thunderbird out. Andy flies into a rage, blasting the Purifire back and breaking both his legs. Lauren has to physically restrain him to make him stop. In that moment, Andy and Lauren’s parents realize what kind of person their son is turning into. They’re more determined than ever to defeat the inner circle and get Andy back for good. At the same time, Andy is heading right back to the group that encourages his extreme ways. It’s a promising conflict that I hope the rest of the season can deliver on. Things are a little more hopeful for Eclipse and Polaris, meanwhile. Polaris may say their team-up changes nothing, but that brief, satisfying kiss at the end says different. We can expect that to come back up in future episodes too.

For a midseason premiere, this wasn’t as flashy or bombastic as you might expect. It had great action sure, but it really felt like just another episode of The Gifted. It was even a bit smaller than many of this season’s episodes have been. Though it featured a Mutant Underground assault on a Purifier compound, it left the Inner Circle entirely out of it. While it could have made for a more interesting conflict if Reeva had been involved, the smaller scope might have been a good thing. The Gifted struggles when it tries to juggle too many story elements at once. While playing it safe didn’t lead to a particularly memorable episode, it was at least tightly written, and fun to watch while it lasted. Besides, with Lauren’s powers suddenly changing at the end, becoming more destructive like Andy’s, it set up a few interesting stories to explore in the coming weeks.